Impending today are two of the most critical decisions Barack Obama will ever make, which may determine the fate of his presidency, as well as the future of the United States in the Near and Middle East.

Among the $500 billion in Medicare cuts that will provide the
bulk of the financing for Obama's health care plan is a $160 billion to $180
billion cut in the Medicare Advantage program, which offers a range of
benefits not available to beneficiaries under basic Medicare.

Fri, Oct 02, 2009

Around the house, leaks are a major problem. They can even lead to structural damage if they aren’t dealt with. The same is true in Washington, of course. But here, leaks can also be beneficial, getting out information that someone wanted to keep bottled up.

It's hard out there for a first lady of the United States. Take it from travel-weary Michelle Obama. On Tuesday night, she boarded a luxury 757 for Copenhagen. Think of the stairs she had to climb. Oh, the agony of the feet!

The signature of Obama's (uppercase "D") Democrats is their systematic betrayal of (small "d") democratic principles. Just look at today's news for a flavor of their pattern of flagrantly ignoring the popular will to cram down our throats policies we clearly reject.

At the conclusion of the 1939 movie "Gone With the Wind," Vivien Leigh, playing Scarlett O'Hara, defers decision on what to do about the major crisis in her life with this sentence: "After all, tomorrow is another day." Unfortunately, the Obama White House seems to have adopted Scarlett's decision-making process for the war in Afghanistan. Note to the O-Team: Kabul isn't Tara -- and Americans are dying while the commander in chief dithers.

Austin, age 13, is touching and familiar. With his helmet of short brown hair, biggish ears and sensitive eyes, he's typical of a tender age almost on the cusp of manhood. So little time behind him, so much time ahead of him. If he were Jewish, he might be preparing for his bar mitzvah, thanking his parents for giving him life, expressing his hopes to live up to the respect they place in him.

It's my genuine belief that when the ball in Times Square dropped and displayed the year "2000" nine years ago, something must have occurred to transform our nation and the world into a permanent version of "Alice in Wonderland."

When France chides you for appeasement, you know you're scraping bottom. Just how low we've sunk was demonstrated by the Obama administration's satisfaction when Russia's president said of Iran, after meeting President Obama at the U.N., that "sanctions are seldom productive, but they are sometimes inevitable."

"Iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow, endangering the global nonproliferation regime, denying its own people access to the opportunity they deserve, and threatening the stability and security of the region and the world."

Here’s a bulletin based on an unscientific survey and verified by friends: Obama stickers are getting harder to spot. That’s right. The ubiquitous blue stickers with the round, red-white-and blue symbol are coming off the bumpers.

In 1981, Israeli leaders sent bombers to destroy Saddam Hussein's nuclear reactor at Osirak. Rafael Eitan, then Israel's Army Chief of Staff, is said to have explained the motivation succinctly: "The alternative is our destruction."

How would I explain the Polanski “controversy” to an innocent young person who might be confused why anyone would be defending Polanski—let alone Hollywood celebrities and foreign dignitaries? This is my imperfect attempt.

As the Democrats try to force through legislation, some Democrats wonder whether their congressional leaders and the president who has deferred to them have sought only limited changes rather than more fundamental reform on both health insurance and carbon emissions.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, President Obama's personal choice to lead U.S. and coalition forces and operations in Afghanistan, has officially made a request for between 30,000 and 40,000 additional troops.

When government officials play the Olympic lottery, taxpayers lose. That has been the disastrous experience of host cities around the world. So, why are President Obama and his White House entourage headed to Copenhagen, Denmark, this week to push a fiscally doomed Chicago 2016 bid? Political payback.

As President Obama approaches a decision on the way forward in Afghanistan -- the most historically consequential choice of his presidency so far -- military leaders seem impressed with his decision-making process.

President Obama is not a communist, although he certainly has a soft spot for communists ranging from Van Jones to Frank Marshall Davis. Obama is, however, a devotee of the Marxist philosophy of politics: permanent change. Or, in his case, permanent campaigning on change.

Should doctors and hospitals be required by the federal government to maintain a national network of electronic health records for every individual in America that indicates, for example, whether that individual has had an abortion, a sexually transmitted disease, a mental illness or a drug problem?

can be irritating -- especially your children. That is why the notion of a school year extending 12 months is not completely revolting. But alas, the government is not a baby-sitting service. Not yet. Let's hope not ever.

Sudan's genocidal Darfur war still attracts international attention, and though large battles pitting national government troops against Darfur rebels are less frequent there, violent anarchy still afflicts that sad region.

The public option was excised out of the Senate Finance Committee’s health care legislation just two days after the conclusion of a massive two-month effort from religious groups that lobbied for the controversial provision.

During the Cold War, the United States deliberately stationed troops on the front lines facing the Soviet Union and its satellites. The message was clear: America stands with Europe against its most dangerous enemies.

According to news reports, students in the Indian Creek High School marching band were permitted by director Donald Llewellyn to choose the music for this year’s halftime show. They chose Britney Spears.

Tue, Sep 29, 2009

As someone who teaches and writes about international politics, I can confidently say that last week was one of the strangest in memory, from the G-20 circus in my backyard (Pittsburgh) to the political zoo at the United Nations. President Obama, of course, was front and center, including with a major speech at the United Nations.

Recent polls not only show that a clear majority of voters disapprove of his government-run entitlement plan; they show that key groups who make up that majority -- seniors and independents -- are now moving away from the Democrats and toward Republicans in the 2010 election cycle.

There must still be places like the all-night cafes and cafeterias I remember on the Lower East side, where students could sit till all hours nursing a cup of coffee or maybe a glass of tea -- a glesele tay, to lapse into my childhood Yiddish -- while solving all the problems of the world, or maybe just stirring them up.

When I was a young man graduating from college, more years ago than I choose to admit, I interviewed with various prospective employers. I remember the International Business Machine (IBM) recruiter telling me that the number one earner was (can you guess?) the typewriter ribbon sales man. I'm glad I didn't pursue a career in ribbon sales.

Though our society often denigrates the teen years and expects very little from our young people, I believe there exists a latent power in this particular generation that waits to be awakened and reveal its full potential.

That Iran is building a secret underground facility near the holy city of Qom, under custody of the Revolutionary Guard -- too small to be a production center for nuclear fuel, but just right for the enrichment of uranium to weapons grade -- is grounds for concern, but not panic.

Representative Joe Wilson came under fire for his "You lie!" outburst during President Obama's address on healthcare reform to a joint session of Congress. Although he has apologized for the remark, could it be that Wilson, like a growing number of Americans, continues to be concerned that an unworkable and expensive healthcare plan is being pushed through the halls of Congress at breakneck speed.

Our Betters in Europe, of course, are outraged that Switzerland arrested and may allow the extradition of film director Roman Polanski, 76, a fugitive from California justice after he pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a 13-year-old in 1977.

Red alert to parents: If you send your children to a public school, they may be secretly indoctrinated in the cult of Obama-worship. If that's not your plan for your children, you had better act now, before it's too late.

George W. Bush got banged up badly for his foreign policy choices: Iraq, Guantanamo, "torture," a certain tonal disdain for critics foreign and domestic. It will be interesting to see, in a matter of weeks or possibly days, how his successor, Barack Obama, fares with the critics.

On the eve of the French Revolution, the aristocrats inhabiting the palace of Versailles enjoyed, “as an ironic lark, sporting the clothing of the working classes,” according to writer Charles Stenson.

The plight of the poor has been a major bone of contention in the healthcare debate for months now. The morality of various approaches has also been hotly debated from all sides of the political universe – left, right, and middle.

"It is my deeply held belief," Barack Obama told the United Nations General Assembly, that "in the year 2009 -- more than at any point in human history -- the interests of nations and peoples are shared."

Hello Barry. I’ve decided to write you a few questions in response to the unsolicited emails I keep getting from BarackObama.com. Since most of your form emails concern health care I’ll confine most of my questions to one health-related subject: Abortion.

Irving Kristol, a giant of the 20th century, left us this past week. “Mugged by reality” was his famous description of his personal journey from socialist to liberal to godfather of the neo-conservative movement.

Sun, Sep 27, 2009

President Barack Obama’s visit to the United Nations this past week, complete with a major address and some quality time with a gavel, was yet another step in the process of seizing a much sought after role.

Green is the new black – for chic environmentalists and eco-intellectuals, that is. Yet the “green” movement also has the potential, in the form of a climate and energy bill, of being even more divisive than the health-care debate.

What Carter achieved at Camp David is not replicable today. That’s because the Israelis in 1978 did not want to occupy Sinai. They agreed that it was an unnecessary that it did not materially contribute to their security.

At least since 1994, when seven tobacco executives testified before Congress that they didn't think cigarettes were addictive, the public has not put great trust in those who sell carcinogens for a living. What Americans may not realize is that they also shouldn't believe the people who are supposed to protect us from tobacco. When it comes to cigarettes, the federal government can blow smoke with the best of them.